Adultery, Aadhaar and gay sex: Landmark SC decisions in 2018 that empowered the common man

The Supreme Court decriminalised Section 497 of IPC on September 27 and said mere adultery can't be a crime unless it attracts the scope of Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC. Here are some major rulings of the Apex Court in 2018.

Legal sanction to homosexuality | After taking into account a clutch of petitions challenging criminalisation of homosexuality, the Supreme Court on September 6, deemed Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. The five-judge constitutional bench decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults, further declaring that victimising homosexuals is unconstitutional, and henceforth, a criminal act. Case: Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. Vs. Union of India through Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice (Image: Reuters)

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Shutdown of resorts to preserve elephant corridors | On August 9, a 3-judge constitutional bench headed by Justice Lokur directed the Tamil Nadu government to seal or shutdown 39 resorts and hotels constructed on an elephant corridor in the Nilgiri Hills, within 48 hours. This was a historic judgement by Supreme Court for animal lovers and for conserving wildlife. (Image: Reuters)

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Monitoring multi-national accounting firms | On February 23 a two-judge bench comprising Justice AK Goel and Justice UU Lalit directed the Centre to form a Committee of Experts to look into the functioning of Multi-national Accounting Firms (MAFs) after the appellant alleged that they were illegally operating in India and were in violation of Section 224 of the Companies Act, 1956, Sections 25 and 29 of the CA Act, and the Code of Conduct laid down by the ICAI. Case: S Sukumar Vs. The Secretary, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. (Image: Reuters)

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Legal sanction to passive euthanasia | On March 9, the Supreme Court declared that the right to die with dignity is a fundamental right. The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra upheld the legal validity of passive euthanasia, albeit under strict guidelines. The judgement stated that withdrawal of life support will only be permitted through a "living will" and the patient must either be terminally ill or in a vegetative state. Case: Common Cause (A Regd. Society) Vs. Union of India. (Image: Reuters)

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Constitutional validity of Aadhaar | On September 26 a five-judge constitutional bench headed by CJI Dipak Mishra reviewed the petitions challenging the validity of Aadhaar and ruled that it will stay, albeit with conditions. Among other things, the bench declared that the requirement to link phone numbers and bank accounts to Aadhaar is no longer required. They also stated that Aadhaar is not mandatory for school admission. (Image: Reuters)

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Adultery not an offence | The Supreme Court in a landmark ruling on September 27 struck down Section 497 that criminalised adultery and said that women must be treated at par with me. CJI Justice Dipak Misra said that there can't be a social license to destroy the institution of marriage and added that the law violates Right to Privacy to some extent. (Image: Archive)